This is an absolutely “must read” book for anybody trying to make sense of a car dependent society and working out ways to mitigate the adverse effects of car use. The author is an experienced and proficient journalist basing his work on worldwide case studies in an easy to read style: making things simple without being simplistic. I disagree on a couple of minor points (HS2 is one), and there’s one big flaw in the structure of the book (wait for it!), but you really should read this book if you have any interest in road transport.
“The aim of this book is to persuade you of something that is antithetical to the development of most of the world over the past 140 years”(p.4) …and he does this nicely, refusing to avoid issues about why cars are so attractive, just recognising that “The problem is that cars impose costs on everybody else”. (p.8).
And some more quotes from the Introduction: “Cars are not just about how you get around. They are about what the city you live in looks like and what your daily life feels like. The car goes to the core of almost everything…. the car effects almost every aspect of our lives. But it can change. And when you cut back on the car, you discover that, in fact, you never needed it as much as you had thought. This book will explain how that it is possible” And (to a large extent) it does.
So let’s have a tour through the book:
It kicks off with an account of Texas (transport across the state of Texas accounts for 0.5% of the entire world’s CO2 emissions, p.16). Knowles considers the process of increased motorisation – correctly and necessarily in my view – by describing the links between development (housing, retail, workplaces), road building and the cheap costs of buying and running cars. He describes the economists’ view of “externalities” (allowing us to show how, in effect, car use is subsidised), the “prisoner’s dilemma” of the consequences of everybody working in their own interests, and how urban density in car dominated societies declines to create an even more car dependent society. Most importantly, this pattern has already started throughout the “less developed” world and: “…unless we deal with the car, climate change is going to prove unstoppable” (p.23)
There’s a nice short section on the early history of motorisation (the invention of the term “jaywalking” by the American section of the “road safety” industry) followed by one on the history of road building. I liked reference to my colleague and mentor John Adams work on “predict and provide” from the 1980s.
But here’s the problem: the book is packed with mentions of numerous pieces of academic research and surveys. It refers to crucial evidence – but without reference to the original work. That means that readers who want to examine the original work, or refer to it in their own writings, simply can’t do so without a difficult trawl through search engines – even titles of the original material are absent. To make matters worse, while some of authors are mentioned in the (short) index, others – like Adams – are not.
These are crucial flaws. One must hope that when this book comes out in paperback, or a second edition, that there is a full reference system and better index.
Back to the content. Our world tour takes us through Detroit and how motorisation accompanied the “white flight” from city to suburb. Then we have the history of the Moses/Jacobs fight: I think Jane Jacobs is unfairly described (as she was in David Hare’s recent play on this episode) as a “gentrifier” (p.75). Gentrification is, after all, something which happens when an area becomes more attractive, as it will when it doesn’t have a motorway running through it.
EVs get a nice roasting as “THE solution” (yes, I know EVs are better than ICE cars, it’s just that we can’t merely replace the latter with the former and expect to address ghg emissions plus all the other problems of excessive car use): “The problem is that electric cars are popular precisely because they provide an excuse to avoid doing the harder things, like rebuilding our cities, or changing the habits of a lifetime” (p.99). I think Knowles spends a bit too much time on the “rare earth” issue – there are enough other problems associated with the “EVs are the solution” trope, as I’ve described here: https://rdrf.org.uk/2019/10/28/whats-wrong-with-electric-cars-are-they-a-small-step-forward-or-a-red-herring/ .
The next chapter introduces us to the fascinating concept of “bionic duckweed”: “…a technology that may never materialise because it is not a real technology at all”. This is a wonderful concept in my opinion – do read about it yourselves (spoiler: think AVs).
Next up, a swift run through induced demand (“Traffic engineers cannot resist trying to fix congestion with one more road…exactly why you should not put engineers in charge of social problems, like how to get people around.” P.117); the problems of “free” parking; and the machinations of the car industry – yes, we’re right to be suspicious of it.
Naturally, I have a particular interest in the chapter “What causes traffic accidents?” (shame about using the “a” word though Daniel). It’s nice to see that at least some of his discussion includes consideration of risk compensation by drivers: the consideration of US street design (yes, correctly in my view) states:”…what America’s wider streets mean, in effect, is that drivers feel safer going faster.” (p.162) and “A basic rule of cities is this: if it is a relaxing place to drive, then it is invariably a god-awful place to walk”(p.166).
The last chapters in the book discuss the solutions, starting with one on bicycles and (I learned a lot from this) the example of Japan, and (some) changes in young people’s attitudes towards cars, ending with:” A world in which cars are less necessary in our daily lives, and less dominant in our cities, is possible. We just have to find a way to get there”.(p.225). Knowles concludes by stressing that political courage is vital, and that: ”There can never be enough road space, enough parking spaces, or enough gasoline for everyone to have one, and for it not to be miserable.”(p.235).
Readers of posts on www.rdrf.org.uk will be familiar with much of what is written here, but probably not all – and it’s good to see it presented in an attractively written way. But even if you feel you don’t need to read it, you’ll probably have acquaintances who do – so buy a copy for them at least! Hopefully the next edition will have a good reference system and better index.
Robert Davis 7th August 2023
Baroness Jenny Jones (President RDRF) “Welcome !” 
Dr Robert Davis (Chair RDRF) : “30 years of RDRF, why we were set up – and what are our achievements? “
Amy Aeron-Thomas (Action Vision Zero) : “Harm reduction – progress achieved over 30 years”. 
Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox (Metropolitan Police) : “Speed reduction and tackling dangerous driving”. 
Former PC Mark Hudson (MPH Collective) : “Close Passing Operations The relevance of Enforcement.” 
Cycling Mikey (3rd Party Reporting Campaigner) : “Third Party reporting”. 
Sara Dowling (RoadPeace) : “The importance of Road Justice”. 
Lucy Saunders (Healthy Streets) : “How healthy streets encourage active travel“. 
Stephen Edwards (Living Streets) : “How more people walking makes streets safer, and safer streets make more people walk”. 
Tom Bogdanowicz (London Cycling Campaign) : “How cycling makes streets safer”. 
Brenda Puech (RDRF) : “LTNs and other measures to reduce motor traffic”. 
Roger Geffen (Low Traffic Alliance) : “Traffic reduction affects Climate Change and pollution – not just road danger”. 
Road Danger Reduction Forum 